


De Sal y Azúcar

by softdreaming, wattspeeds (softdreaming)



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Bad Flirting, F/M, First Time, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, Multi, My First Work in This Fandom, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Slow Burn, Smut, all characters are involved, except fuse but he might come in later?, idk what im doing, im just winging it tbh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:14:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28823541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softdreaming/pseuds/softdreaming, https://archiveofourown.org/users/softdreaming/pseuds/wattspeeds
Summary: hi!! this is my first time posting on ao3, and I've run into a few complications because of it, so please bare with me as I publish these next few chapters. there are a few finished, I just need to perfect them! disclaimer: this work takes place at the beginning of season 7, and a few lore pieces may or may not coalesce depending on how this all moves forward canonically, but I tried to make my own story in their current universe and what's been published by writers and artists at respawn!! with that being said, I hope you enjoy this long little piece I've birthed out, as I haven't written in years and I just had to because I simply adore these characters! beware of spoilers, and if you haven't read the comics on the official Apex twitter account or the quests, I suggest you do so, especially for season 5, 6 and 7! Minor spoilers for Pathfinder's Quest Lore Book may also apply! Thanks!!
Relationships: Mirage | Elliott Witt & Wraith | Renee Blasey, Mirage | Elliott Witt/Wraith | Renee Blasey, Octane | Octavio Silva & Wattson | Natalie Paquette, Octane | Octavio Silva/Wattson | Natalie Paquette
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	1. Dangling

**Author's Note:**

> hi!! this is my first time posting on ao3, and I've run into a few complications because of it, so please bare with me as I publish these next few chapters. there are a few finished, I just need to perfect them! disclaimer: this work takes place at the beginning of season 7, and a few lore pieces may or may not coalesce depending on how this all moves forward canonically, but I tried to make my own story in their current universe and what's been published by writers and artists at respawn!! with that being said, I hope you enjoy this long little piece I've birthed out, as I haven't written in years and I just had to because I simply adore these characters! beware of spoilers, and if you haven't read the comics on the official Apex twitter account or the quests, I suggest you do so, especially for season 5, 6 and 7! Minor spoilers for Pathfinder's Quest Lore Book may also apply! Thanks!!

_Dangling_.

Octavio’s legs were dangling from the railing he was currently sitting on, a few hundred feet high in the air. From here he could see the clouds and hear the winds coursing over a sleeping Psamathe below his dangling robotic legs. They were whirring with every swing, and though the gusts were strong tonight, he never felt like he was in danger. Not like he knew what that felt like anyway. The earphones in his ears worked at deafening the noise a bit, but with a lit cigarette between an index and middle finger, he didn’t seem to care about it; he wasn’t even paying much attention to the music currently ringing in his ears. The lyrics and the music all sounded the same after a while, but maybe his high-speed brain was doing more work than it usually did. He didn’t spend much time pondering over a cigarette and a loud breeze on a regular evening, especially not during a party. Who could say no to that?

“Fuck it...” He sighed, chucking the biodegradable cigarette down below him and watching it descend into the planet he grew up in, but of course, it disappeared into the atmosphere underneath some clouds.

“You know those are bad for you, right?” A voice spoke from beside him and he quickly turned to his left, spotting none other than Wattson— _Natalie_ —leaning over the railing. He hadn’t heard her approaching, so he took one of his earphones off and had a hearty laugh in response to what she said. “What’s so funny?” She asked, peering over at him with her icy blue eyes, so he turned on his back, letting his legs dangle back over the floor where she was, and shrugged. 

“Nothing, _chica_ , you just sound like Che right now.” He jumped off the railing and pondered again. Why was she here in the first place?

“Che...oh, Ajay?” she turned, and instead of letting her arms dangle over the railing, her back was pressed against it and her arms crossed over herself, to keep herself warm. Right, she was wearing a dress: A long one, aquamarine— _‘Wait, fuck, was that teal? Maybe sky blue? Colors are confusing—‘_ with silver accents here and there; sequins and the like. It looked good on her, but then again he hadn’t ever seen her with anything other than her signature jumpsuit for the ring and the ones she gets from her sponsors for the same purpose, of course. He also hadn’t seen her without her hood on before. It gave him a rough idea of just how far her scar went from seeing it go from her cheek to her shoulder and disappearing below her arms currently covering her chest. Her hair was about mid-neck length, and he wasn’t sure why, but he sort of imagined so.

“Yeah, good ol’ stick-in-the-mud Ajay Che. Did you know I’ve known her since first grade?” He didn’t want an answer, he was more or less just talking to himself and she understood that right away. She was staring at him as he lit yet another cigarette with an electric lighter that he got from his blazer’s chest pocket. He was covering the flame with his cupped hand, and she noticed as she peered down that his nails were painted black. It suited him. “Some friend she is.” He mumbled to himself, cigarette snug between his lips. She hadn’t seen them before this. Natalie hadn’t even spoken to him before either. Just some friendly, basic small talk. The type coworkers and acquaintances who have nothing in common usually share. She didn’t pry beyond what he said. She also didn’t understand the half-muttered Spanish curse word he said soon after.

“What are you doing out here anyway?” He said, joining her and leaning against the railing with his back. “Don’t you like parties, _hermana_?” She quickly shook her head in response.

“No,” she smiled, but it was one of those forlorn ones, almost like she knew that she was missing all of the fun. “I don’t. Too noisy.” She emphasized, pointing at her earplugs. He nodded in understanding and took a drag of his cig, blowing it the other way. It just so happened that the wind’s direction was to his right, where she was beside him, so he took it upon him to blow it the opposite direction. Che would always complain if he didn’t, so it more or less turned into a habit.

“Right, I forgot. Why did you even come in the first place then?”

“It’s the start of a new season, why wouldn’t I?” She answered, “Besides, Wraith told me I can always leave if I want to; she said she would take me home.” Octavio raised a brow from behind his goggles, almost asking _‘so why don’t you go home then?’_ even though she couldn’t see him. He scoffed.

“So you don’t like parties, do you smoke at least?” he asked, already reaching to pull another cigarette from his pocket, but her frantic waving of her hands stopped him.

“ _Non, non_ **_,_ **I don’t! Why would I after I told you they were bad for you, silly?” She chuckled as she watched him shrug and put the cigarette back into his pocket.

“Suit yourself, _chica,_ keep being boring like that and life will pass you by faster than you can say _rápido.”_ Natalie furrowed her brows and frowned, her arms crossing tighter over her chest.

“You don’t have to be rude, you know? We can live our lives whatever way we want, up to you if you want to incinerate your lungs.” She huffed, glancing off and huffing to herself. Octane just stood there for a while in silence, deciding not to speak again in order to not upset her more than she was already. In reality, he didn’t really mean what he said. He was blowing off steam and she just so happened to be there at the wrong place and time. Natalie was also getting slightly annoyed at the smell coming from the speedster’s personal space, but not enough to leave. Despite his comments, she didn’t think he meant anything by them. But maybe that was her seeing the good in everyone, even when they didn’t necessarily deserve it. She hadn’t seen him angry before, at least not outside the ring. He’d get fired up if a match didn’t go his way, but that was just the competitiveness they all shared. This was different. 

After a while, he spoke again. 

“Well, this is all yours then, _chica_ . I’ll get out of your little...bubble.” He said, letting the cigarette sit between his middle and index finger again. She noticed he was playing with something in his mouth, and realized he was pushing his front teeth between and against a little jewel on his tongue. ‘ _A piercing, how fitting,’_ she thought, humming in response. Something seemed to be actually bothering him, but again, she didn’t want to pry. She saw him saunter off without another word, the mechanical whir of his legs accompanying the sound of the gusts of air dancing over the rooftop of the ( _temporary)_ Mirage Voyage, pt 2. Elliot was always the host of the Beginning of a New Season party, and even though the Voyage was gone, this rented spaceship would do for tonight. They had all pitched in as well. Even Bloodhound, who never attended these parties in the first place, helped Elliot out because they knew it would make him happy. They even showed up for a bit, gave a toast, and welcomed the new legend. ‘ _Horizon, was it?’,_ she wondered. 

Natalie watched him disappear into the ship, his loud voice cheering along with the others as they clapped for the new Legend as if she didn’t just hear the difference of his voice not two minutes ago. If there was one thing Octane did better than win a match out of pure luck, it was keeping his mask on, literally and figuratively. She figured she’d stay a bit longer out here, but the wind was starting to pick up and she had left her scarf inside with Wraith— _Renee_ —, so she had no other option but to follow the speedster inside. 

She tried not to let their conversation bother her. It’s not like she had talked to him a lot before to know what their conversations usually went like, but she seemed to recall that he was usually quite friendly towards her, if nothing else. A couple of months back he had even risked his life and ended up in the infirmary because he thought he could take on Revenant alone after she had been injured. Of course, he had also done it for sport, but she liked to think her injury had been the push he needed to go after the Simulacrum. Only because out of all the Legends, she understood Octavio the least. They shared nothing in common, and yet she had a simple appreciation— _or was it admiration?—_ for the man two years her senior. Maybe because he could have fun at parties, or because he didn’t care what people said about him. It wasn’t an easy feat for her, that’s for sure. Either way, it showed that he at least thought _something_ of her. All she wanted to do was to befriend all the Legends, not including Revenant, though she had tried to crack him for about…two minutes after they met. It didn’t work out. She didn’t take it personal. 

  
  


As she walked her way back inside, she noticed out of the corner of her eye through the crowd of a combination of her friends, sponsors, and press people, that Octane and Lifeline were having a jab at each other again. They weren’t exactly subtle when they fought, and it looked like Ajay was trying to walk away from him while Octavio kept grabbing at her hand and wrists to pull her back. ( _It wasn’t violent in the least though; Ajay seemed more annoyed than she was distressed._ ) Aside from her, the only one who seemed to notice was Bloodhound, who glanced at Natalie and shook their head, so as to say ‘ _These two again…’,_ and they were right. It was no secret that _those two_ were closer than anyone could comprehend, and yet they fought like disgruntled siblings trying to convince one another that they were the favorite. It was practically a running joke between the Legends. 

She paid no mind to them and headed towards the bar, where Mirage— _Elliot—_ was having a friendly competition with Rampart— _Ramya—_ about who could lick the most limes and not cringe. Ramya had him beat by three. 

“Ha! And another one bites the dust! C’mon, Witt, ain’t your mama ever teach you to eat your fruits and veggies?” Said Ramya, slamming another lime into the bar as Elliot cringed and wiped his tongue with a napkin. Natalie smiled, sitting on one of the barstools a couple of feet away from the two as they bickered. Her head rested on her palm as her feet swung mindlessly, the deafened noises of the party muffled through her earplugs. 

“Hey, Witt, two shots for me, _amigo_!” Spoke Octavio as he sat by Rampart, who laughed and watched as Elliot poured him a shot of...whatever that was. 

“You don’t stop, do ya? How many drinks would you say you’ve had tonight, Silva?” Said Ramya, an eyebrow raised as she watched him gulp down the two shots in record speed.

“I don’t know, too many to count?” He answered with a laugh, motioning at Elliot to keep them coming, and though he was more than happy to, even he could tell Octane wasn’t in his regular party mood. Rampart, who was new, didn’t catch onto this as quickly as they did. 

“Hey, how ‘bout this? I give you two final shots and you can be on your merry little way, wouldn't want you passed out before the after-party, _amigo._ ” Said Elliot with a nudge to Octane’s shoulder with his elbow, a hint of worry in his voice so small you could barely sense it. Natalie didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but they were right there, and her earplugs didn’t exactly deafen the voices of her friends. She figured it was selective hearing because even the music seemed quiet. 

“Pssh, fine, but only if you share this last one with me, _compadre_ ,” Octavio said, raising the shot glass and pushing it towards the trickster.

“Are you kidding? Nah, man, I gotta be on my best behavior today; might even finally get me a sponsor if I keep being family-friendly.” He said in response, pushing the shot glass towards Ramya now, who cringed and pushed it back towards Octavio.

“Nah, none for me tonight, mate. I actually want to be sober enough to not be hungover tomorrow before the first match.” She spoke, leaning against the bar with her elbow propped against it as Octavio groaned and presumably rolled his eyes inside his goggles. 

“Damn, you guys are boring, guess I’ll just have to make the sacrif—“ He stopped, feeling a stare on him as he turned and saw Wattson looking at him. She wasn’t being as subtle as she thought she was, and she quickly looked away when she was caught red-handed. Elliot and Ramya hadn’t even noticed her yet. Octavio stood up from where he sat and scooted towards her, the barstool grinding against the floor as the pair beside him winced at the squeaking noise of it. He pulled up to her, holding up the shot glass as she continued to look away, pretending she hadn’t just been caught. 

“How about you, _amiga_ ? You don’t drink?” He asked, a bit quietly as Mirage and Rampart shared a look of ‘ _the fuck is he doing?’_. Natalie finally turned to glance his way after being spoken to directly. 

“I don’t.” She answered plainly as he hummed in understanding, downing the shot he offered her in one go.

“So you don’t like parties, you don’t smoke, and you don’t drink. Do you dance at least?” That took her aback. What did dancing have to do with anything? She still shook her head ‘no’ at his question. 

“Papa never taught me, so no, I don’t dance either.” She could practically see his eyes roll again through his goggles, and he stood up and offered a hand towards her while motioning towards the dance floor where the rest of the Legends were doing a mix of laughing, talking, and dancing. 

“Dancing isn’t taught, _hermana,_ you just do it. C’mon.” He grabbed her by the hand and didn’t pull on it like he did Ajay’s. He waited for her to stand up by herself, complying to his wishes and following him to the dance floor as the other two shrugged and continued to bicker, probably. If there was another pair of unrelated siblings that equally loved and couldn’t stand each other, it would be them.

“What are we doing, Octane?” She said quietly as she was roped to the dance floor, letting him grab her by her mid-back and start swaying. If there was one thing Natalie didn’t think he’d do on a dance floor, it was swaying. Seemed too slow for the speedster.

“We’re dancing, _chica_. I know you don’t know how to, but this is how you do it.” He said, giving her a little spin and watching as she slightly stumbled but held his shoulders while they continued to sway.

“ _Non_ , I mean...what are _we_ doing?” She looked around and saw a few pairs of eyes glancing at them. Truth be told, it did seem out of place and almost uncharacteristic for Octavio to dance as slow as he was, especially with someone he rarely even spoke to. The eyes were that of Wraith, Pathfinder, and Gibraltar, who were having a discourse about the array of appetizers they had been snacking on for the last hour. Pathfinder didn’t even eat, but he was more than happy to share his two cents in order to fit in with the Legends. They loved him for it. Sadly the conversation had stopped short because now they were in pure silence as they watched the two attempt to dance in the most awkward way possible. It was clear neither of the two had a clear idea of how to dance, even though Octavio claimed he did. Gibraltar was trying not to laugh during the entire thing. Renee would elbow him for this. She knew Natalie hated being laughed at.

“Okay, okay, but you have to promise you won’t tell Che any of this.” He whispered, glancing around and probably noticing Wraith and Pathfinder trying to look at them out of the corner of their eyes. _(Or, well, Renee’s eyes and Pathfinder’s oculus.)_

  
  


“Um...okay.” She agreed, puzzled at his request as her brows knitted. He got a little closer to her, not close enough to give the wrong impression but close enough so only she could hear him. She didn’t pull away.

“Listen, I’m kind of really sorry for acting like a complete asshole earlier. Che dumped me _again_ after I couldn't make something up to her and she was being a total buzzkill, she gets like that when she’s angry, so then I got angry and I took it out on you.” He shrugged, looking around to try and find the object of his grievances—Ajay—in the crowd. He wasn’t exactly the tallest Legend, so they both seemed to have an issue trying to spot her.

“Apology accepted but...why shouldn’t I tell Ajay?” She tilted her head, noticing that somewhere in between their swaying he had grabbed both her hands now, instead of having them stationary on her back.

“Because she’ll kill me if she knew I apologized to you before I apologized to her.” He chuckled, his head shaking in amusement. “I mean, no offense, _hermana_ , but we aren’t exactly close, and you’re not as much of a buzzkill as Che is. She’s the one who brought this onto herself by giving _Octavio Silva_ an ultimatum, so I don’t think she deserves an apology, not yet anyway.” Natalie couldn’t help but giggle at their pettiness towards one another, and yet she still felt bad for the two. It was obvious they loved each other, they just had different ways of showing it. She had heard a few times in the months that she had been in the games that Octavio really cared for her, and he would usually help her in ways nobody else could. She was all the family he had, and apparently, it went both ways. Ajay was a little different. She would go out of her way to keep Octavio from harm’s way and always expected him to do the same, but he wasn’t the type to intervene when someone had their mind made up on something like Ajay usually would when it came to him. He found it redundant, and she found it selfish. But despite their differences and constant fights, they still only had each other, and they would always forgive one another despite their grievances.

“Ah, I see…” She muttered quietly and glanced towards Renee, who was now looking directly between her and Octavio with knitted brows, confused at how this had gone on for this long. In the time she’d known him, Wraith had seen him stay still...maybe less than a handful of times. “Okay, then I won’t mention it.”

“ _Gracias_ , _hermana._ I owe you one.” He said, letting her hands go and looking around, presumably for _Che_ still. “Are you sure you at least don’t drink?”

“Mm-mm, I think I’ll just tell Wraith to take me home.” She muttered, tucking one strand of her hair behind her ear. She watched as Octane mirrored her and pushed his fading green hair back, seemingly wondering what to do now that he knew she definitely didn’t drink. She didn’t want to be a party-pooper or a buzzkill or anything; she knew the latter liked partying as much, if not more than he liked drinking.

“Well, that’s fine, I’ll see you out there then.” He began retreating from her personal space and saluted her playfully to say goodbye, “Oh, and uh, thanks for the…. _dance_.” His tone was joking, she guessed, but she tilted her head and sent him a smile nonetheless.

“You’re welcome!” She chirped, prompting him to tilt his head back in confusion, but he laughed soon after, knowing that his connotation flew right over her head. A wave of her hand later and his back was turned to her as he went to meet back up with Elliot and Ramya. She could see Renee chatting with the new Legend by the stage, so she took the opportunity to both introduce herself and formally leave the party. 

“Wraith.” She said quietly, stepping in front of them as they chatted. The woman then looked her way and smiled, glancing back at the new Legend as she stopped talking. She seemed to be going on about black holes, or at least that’s what Natalie ended up getting out of the sentence she accidentally interrupted.

“Dr. Mary Somers, this is Natalie, she’s the girl I was telling you about. Nat, this is Dr. Mary, but you can call her—“

“Horizon is fine, dearie, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Not every day I get to meet another scientist, ya know?” She said, extending a hand out for Natalie to shake it. Her accent was _thick_ , she hadn’t heard anything like it; it was refreshing. This lady seemed to have a lot of energy and enthusiasm by the looks of it. She seemed so excited to be part of something like this. It reminded her of herself when she first joined. Of course, she had just chalked it up to her own naïveté. She didn’t know how truly tough it was to survive out in the ring, and though she had somehow made it through with minimal scratches and scars, it was still scary. At least she had her friends with her. She hoped this _Horizon_ knew what she had gotten herself into.

“Actually, I’m an engineer, but same here, it’s nice to meet you, Dr. Horizon. I hope we get _sucked into_ a good friendship together.” She giggled at her own attempt at making a black hole joke, but only Wraith laughed, like usual. Horizon just gave her a smile, and soon they got wrapped into a conversation that Renee had no expertise in: _Science_. While the two spoke she stayed quietly in the background, swiveling her drink in its glass. Looking around, she noticed Elliot, Pathfinder, and Ramya doing the whole lime thing again, except this time Pathfinder was keeping count. Ramya probably cheated or something. She rolled her eyes, and when she glanced at them again, she noticed Elliot was looking right at her. He even did a little once over to fully catch a glimpse of what she was wearing, top to bottom. She wasn’t one to get nervous, especially not because of him, but she scooted close to the two girls beside her and laughed at whatever they were saying, though they weren’t saying anything funny to begin with. Elliot was probably too dumb to notice the girls looking at Wraith with their brows raised.

_She told herself she was_ _not_ _going to open_ _that_ _door again._


	2. After-Party

After the party, Natalie and Renee decided to leave early. The after-party was still on for the rest of the Legends, however. Bloodhound had offered to take them both to their places since they were leaving as well, but the girls turned their offer down because they decided last minute to have an impromptu sleepover. Both girls needed a break after tonight. Bloodhound conceded and bid them good night, wishing them well and to drive safely. It was getting late, so Bloodhound, being the caring soul they were, didn’t want anything to happen to their friends. 

“I didn’t get to ask, what was that dance with Octane all about?” Renee spoke after a while of driving in silence. Natalie was leaning against the windshield of her car, her arms wrapped around her scarf on her lap, and she hummed in response, giving her a shrug.

“I don’t know...he and Lifeline got into another argument and we met by the balcony. He was acting weird. He seemed upset...but he apologized while we danced and told me not to tell Lifeline.” She giggled to herself, the prospect of keeping a secret seeming so scandalous. Renee chuckled and glanced at her again.

“Yeah, well...I don’t want you to spend too much time with him, Nat, he’s...well, you know, _Octane._ I’d say he only cares about himself, but he blew off his own legs.” Natalie furrowed her brows at this. She didn’t reply right away because she was too busy wondering why Renee had mentioned this to her. It was just one dance, it barely lasted five minutes. She guessed she understood where Wraith came from; Octane was always pretty rambunctious and... _destructive_ , but she didn’t think he bared any ill will. If anything she found him a bit funny. Whatever issues he had with Ajay in the past, they’d fix overnight, and outside of Ajay and maybe Crypto and Bangalore— _Anita—_ , he rarely had problems with anyone else. Those ‘problems’ were usually the two being lightly annoyed by him, even.

By the time Nat was ready to respond she figured the time to say something was a little too late, so she moved on to the next best topic as they got into some traffic. 

“I didn’t see you talking to Elliot tonight.” She mentioned, her tone a bit impish. Renee spared her a side glance, rolled her eyes, and scoffed, her smile not showing as she leaned her arm against the window and her head against her open palm. She shrugged and shook her head. Natalie was the only one who knew how she felt about the trickster, so it was only natural for her to be inquisitive about their relationship, or lack thereof. 

“What was there to talk about? He was too busy trying to impress the sponsors.” She brushed off, honking at the car in front of them as they began to move.

“Oh yeah, he mentioned that when Octane was asking us to drink with him, Elliot didn’t want to because he w—“ She nearly choked on her seatbelt when Renee hit the brakes all of a sudden, turning to her as her eyes went pale.

“He asked you to drink?!” She exclaimed and Natalie quickly shook her head, and you could practically see steam coming out of Renee’s head. 

“ _Non, non!_ It wasn’t like that! I mean...he asked me if I drank, but he wasn’t putting pressure on me to drink or anything! It was just a question!” She defended, watching Renee as she sunk back into her seat and sighed in relief. ‘ _Definitely not mentioning the thing with the cigarette.’_ She thought to herself. Renee always made sure she wasn’t being forced into anything she didn’t want to do. She didn’t say why, but it was because Natalie was so naive and almost new to the outside world. She wasn’t aware of how many people had bad intentions out there. And Renee didn’t want Natalie to be coerced into something so dangerous and reckless. Especially around Octane, who was so clearly circled in red in her mind when it came to dangerous and reckless acts. Then again, she did participate in a blood sport, but it wasn’t like any of her friends would actively go out of their way to shoot her. It wasn’t like that with any of them. Their contract and their morals told them so, and even then she wished they weren’t bound by rules sometimes. What Renee would do to put a bullet into Caustic’s skull when she found out what he’d done to her, what he’d done to Crypto. 

“He better not have.” She muttered to herself and began driving back to her apartment. The drive was pretty much quiet after that. Natalie was already dozing and Renee drove them both to hers, yawning herself. So much for staying up all night. 

—

“Hey, no touching my stuff, I already told you, those are collectibles!” Elliot said as he watched Ramya fiddle with the ‘action figures’ on his living room shelf, eyeing them and rolling her eyes as she put one of them back down.

“ _Dolls_ , Witt, they’re dolls.”

“They are _not_ dolls, they’re limited edition, exclusively-signed-by-yours-truly _action figures,_ and just so you know, there were only three-hundred of these made, so you better not mess around with them,” Elliot warned in an accusatory tone as Ramya dropped her bags and crashed on the couch.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, where do you keep your crackers again?” She threw her arms behind her head and stretched, her shoes kicked off already as she melted into the couch. Mirage just sighed and pointed towards the pantry, watching her get up and race to where he kept his crackers. She really was just a kid at the end of the day. Even after all the partying and eating, she still wanted to eat crackers. Elliot straightened out his collectibles and took his shoes off, retreating to his room. Since Ramya was staying here for a while, he closed the door and took his phone out, checking the time. It was a few hours past midnight so there was no way Renee would be up... _right_? 

It’s not like he was horny or anything, he just wanted to see her. She looked way too good tonight to not at least tell her, and maybe then kiss her, touch her, feel her on his— well, maybe a _bit_ horny. At the end of the day, Wraith was more than just a hit-it-and-quit-it type person to him, and though the latter found it hard to even express her sentiments back to him, he could feel it when they were alone. Neither of the two were ready or even remotely near being a thing of sorts, but maybe fucking would bring them closer. It had worked before, but not enough for Renee to open up. Not just yet. He’d wait as long as he could, so long as she came back in the end.

He had caved then. He’d text her. If she didn’t answer, no harm no foul. There’d always be a next time. She couldn’t stay away, as he’d put it in his self-absorbed brain.

A _‘you up?’_ later, he collapsed onto his bed and scrolled through all his tagged pictures while he waited for a response he didn’t think he’d get, liking basically all the ones from tonight. He was this much closer to getting that sponsorship after chatting up some of the big execs that were interested in him endorsing their products, for the right price of course. It was incredulous to him that a walking hunk of metal and an ex-soldier would get one before he did, but he digressed. For someone who claimed he wouldn’t ever censor himself, he had done just that tonight. Some would call him a sellout, but he’d consider himself business savvy, _FYI._

Suddenly, his phone buzzed. He froze. 

—

Renee realized pretty quickly that getting Natalie to cooperate with her wouldn’t turn out, especially not tonight. The poor girl was exhausted. Renee had practically dragged her inside from her car. She was dead asleep, her eyes barely staying open for longer than a minute at a time. She helped her out of her heels, her dress, and her makeup and tucked her into the left side of her bed where she slept whenever they had a sleepover. Nat already had a drawer there full of her of pajamas and loungewear for nights like these. Renee only needed her to raise her arms and hips to slip them onto her frame. No issue there, they were like sisters after all. After a long battle with getting her clothes on as she attempted to not wake her, Renee changed into her own pajamas and settled into her side of the bed. She knew she wasn’t going to get a lick of sleep, like usual, so she just laid there and stared at the ceiling. The good thing about that was that the voices would leave her alone some nights, and tonight seemed to be one of those nights. It had been a while since she experienced genuine peace and quiet, and with her best friend beside her, snoring and drooling all over her pillow, she figured she’d at least _try_ to rest for a little while, even if she ends up waking up in a few hours. 

Unfortunately, that wouldn’t happen. Her phone buzzed beside her head and she sighed, opened her already fluttering eyes, and checked the notification. 

_Fuck. Elliot._ She sighed, thought about just putting her phone down, ignoring the text, and pretending to not have seen it until tomorrow if he asked. But…the voices, they came back. 

**‘Do it, answer him.’**

**‘Tell him you’re awake.’**

**‘Don’t ignore him, not this time.’**

Apparently, that was enough for her. She groaned and rolled onto her stomach, answering him after about five minutes of inner turmoil. 

‘ _Yeah, why?’_

She sighed and shook her head at herself. Did that sound too easy? Too desperate to know what he wanted? God, she hoped not. 

‘ _what are you up to? you with nat?’_

_‘Yeah, why?’_

Was that the only thing she was going to write back if he was going to keep asking questions? She really wanted him to just get to the meat of it. The way he’d beat around the bush always annoyed her. 

‘ _wanna hang out?’_

He asked, after a few minutes of typing and retyping the same sentence. She wasn’t the only one who didn’t wanna sound desperate. He knew what _that_ meant: _“Hanging out”_ . He wanted to fuck, but why tonight of all nights? Renee bit her lip, trying to decide what to do. She didn’t want to leave Natalie alone, but then again...she was out like a light. Would she even notice she’s gone? ‘ _Wait, what am I thinking?’_

_‘aren’t you with Rampart now?’_

_‘aren’t you with Nat now?’_

She paused, threw her phone against the bed, and buried her face into her pillow to grunt. He had a point. She still didn’t know what to do. ‘ _Really? Another three-AM booty call?’_ She told herself that she wouldn’t do this again, that she wouldn’t get distracted again, that she wouldn’t let Elliot in again, literally and figuratively, but the trickster had his ways and...well, she _could_ always say no. He’d understand. And so, after about five more minutes of turmoil, she responded.

‘ _where?’_

Elliot’s response came almost immediately after, lacking periods and commas and all. Typical.

‘ _i’ll meet you at the parking garage of your apartment. the kid can survive on her own she’s got crackers’_

Renee snorted to herself, rolled over onto her back, and pushed her hair back. ‘ _I guess that’s that.’_ She thought to herself. And hey, the voices had stopped. She got up, changed out of her pajamas, and waited for that text that always sent chills down her spine. 

_‘i’m here.’_


	3. Phase

“Fuck. Witt.” Renee sighed out as she dismounted Elliot’s lap and got back into the passenger seat. She redid her ponytail and put her underwear back on as Elliot tucked himself back into his pants and cleared his throat. A few moments of silence passed as they both caught their breaths, and Elliot noticed out of the corner of his eye that a car was starting up a few feet from them. They were still in the parking garage of Renee’s building, cars coming and going every now and then. 

“Huh, look at that,” Elliot said through the silence permeating the air, glancing at the sky’s orangey hues. “It’s almost sunrise.”

“Jesus, already? How long have we been here?” Renee replied, quickly dressing back up. Her back was turned to him as she put her bra and t-shirt back on. _‘As if I haven’t seen her naked before.’_ His brow raised and he chuckled to himself. 

“Umm...about two hours? Maybe?” Elliot answered and Renee’s eyes widened. She quickly reached for her phone in the backseat— where she had thrown it and forgotten about it— and sighed in relief when she realized Wattson hadn’t woken up and texted or called her. She rubbed her face and sighed, running a hand through her hair as she tried to articulate what she would say next.

“This can’t happen again.” She said, and Elliot quickly whipped his head to look at her properly and furrowed his brows, scoffing.

“Wh- That’s what you always say!” He accused in retaliation. And he was right: she had, plenty of times before tonight.

“Yes, but I mean it this time, Elliot!” She turned to him, facing his dejected expression. She hated those puppy dog eyes. If she looked at them for longer than she was now, she’d probably retract her statement. “It can’t. What we did today was...stupid.” She sighed, crossing her arms and shaking her head at herself. It was almost like a few minutes ago she wasn’t riding Elliot’s dick in the driver’s seat of his car, and for the third time that night. She wasn’t saying that then. If anyone was more topsy-turvy than Renee, he hadn’t met them.

“Why? You agreed to it.” Elliot countered, still staring at her with the same puppy eyes that she refused to look at anymore. Renee simply shrugged.

“I shouldn’t have left her alone.”

“Who? Nat? Come on, Renee, really? She’s not a kid you have to babysit _,_ and you out of everyone around her knows she deps— she desp— she _hates_ that.” Renee didn’t answer and instead looked outside, staring at how the cars left and came in.

“You don’t know her like I know her. She’s...seen things. Too many things; she’s seen _me._ She still has nightmares...of _me_.” She mumbled under her breath, reaching to open the door but realizing it was locked. Elliot knew what she meant by that. Natalie didn’t know her full story, didn’t press for more than Renee let her. She was patient, albeit curious, but he knew what Renee saw herself as. What she was afraid of, what she feared. It was herself. If Natalie were to see that side of her, simply snooping through her apartment out of boredom, she’d undoubtedly be afraid too. He wasn’t scared, though, he knew she wouldn’t hurt anyone, much less Nat. Sooner or later she’d have to hear the full story, but Renee wanted it to be from her mouth alone. Elliot knew more than Nat, their history led them there, but he wasn’t one to care about the past, unlike Renee, who knew nothing of hers.

“She’s already forgiven you, you know. She didn’t know it was you until literally a month or two ago.” He tried to soothe, but Wraith was a brick wall. Her already petite figure was practically shrunk into the seat. He could tell she was hearing voices again by the way her brows furrowed and knitted, an indication that she was listening to them intently.  
  


“I have to go, Elliot.” She said in a hurry, reaching for the door again but groaning as it was still locked.

“I don’t want you to,” Elliot said under his breath, rubbing the back of his neck. “I mean...how much longer are we gonna keep doing this?” He kept looking at her, now knowing she wasn’t going to look back at him. He also knew she could theoretically leave anytime she wanted, with her phasing and all, but she wasn’t moving. Despite that, he unlocked the door. He never wanted her to feel trapped or pressured. It’s why he tolerated her ups and downs, the early morning booty calls, those fleeting kisses when they were alone for longer than five minutes without Path or Ramya interrupting them. Still, they knew nothing of them, no one did, aside from Nat, who only knew bits and pieces. Again, things only Renee wanted her to know. Not because it was some dark secret, but because she was simply flustered and maybe a little shy about the whole thing. Opening up was never easy for her. Renee inhaled, then let that breath go to answer in two short words.

“We won’t.” She answered, getting out of the car and walking out, leaving him alone. 

— 

Octavio threw his sneakers by his front door and his coat followed suit. His vest was long gone by the time he got to his room, where he nearly tripped over a few beer cans and chip bags. He rarely had headaches like this, but he admittedly drank a bit too much in that afterparty. But hey, Gibby dared him. Octavio Silva wasn’t one to turn down a good dare. His head was throbbing and he groaned as he threw his goggles onto his desk, then his mask. He caught one glimpse at himself on one of his monitors and shook his head, chuckling at his appearance. 

  
“You look like shit, bro.” He told himself as he looked into his own eyes, green as his hair. He should ask Che to help him dye it again, she had done a good job this time. That’s if she even wanted to speak to him. He should try his luck at texting her, actually. If he isn’t blocked...again. He’d try later. Knowing her, she was probably asleep by now.

He’d probably play some videogames before going to bed. He wasn’t even close to being sleepy, but it wasn’t because he was piss-drunk, he was just used to not sleeping until dawn. Strangely enough, though, he wasn’t feeling the idea of playing games until the sun came up. Seemed too... _boring_ . After he got rid of the rest of his clothes except his underwear, he collapsed onto his bed, arms behind his head as his prosthetics swung off the edge. He was staring at the ceiling like he wanted it to tell him what to do, but nope. _Nada_ . If only Che wasn’t such a killjoy, he’d be at hers doing some dumb shit or jumping off the walls at her place, probably killing her need to sleep altogether. He could admit it, though. He had fucked up a bit. That lie...about his father, about who he _really_ was. He felt bad, not only about lying to his best friend, but about lying to Wattson, too. She was roped into this shit without even asking for it. She was just trying to help. She was always trying to help. She saw right through him in that rooftop and pried, unknowingly, into a pandora’s box of familial issues. What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her. And besides, it’s not like he was close to her like he was to Che. He didn’t owe her the truth. But it still felt shitty to lie to someone who cared about you and only wanted to help. He shouldn’t have snapped at her either, or called her boring. She had seen more of him on that rooftop than she ever had, and for a minute there he almost caved and confessed, just so he could have anyone to talk to and ask for advice. For some unknown fuckin’ reason, he looked at her and nearly spilled all his secrets. I guess that’s the effect she had. Everyone adored the girl, and for a while, he didn’t understand why. What with her contagious laughter, and her bad jokes, and the way she offered everyone snacks before a match where they would probably one day kill each other. Maybe he understood why now. She was a good listener. 

He sighed and his head turned to glance at his alarm clock. It was slightly past four in the morning. He reached into his discarded pants’ pocket by the floor and took out another cigarette—his fourth that night alone— and lit it, placing it between his lips to blow the smoke into said alarm clock after inhaling it. It seemed to be mocking him. He probably wouldn’t sleep before the opening match of the season. If he did, the insomnia would eventually come back anyway. 

“Fuck.” He sighed out as he rubbed his eyes. It was probably the drunken stupor, but his eyes felt heavy suddenly. His body felt heavy. His conscience did, too. He wondered why the last thing he saw before he passed out was Natalie’s kind face. Fortunately, he’d forget by the time he woke up that next morning. It was also a good thing that these cigarettes were made with people like him in mind. The cigarette turned itself off after a few minutes of inactivity, its flame slowly dissipating and the fumes lingering in the room soon after.

— 

When Renee got home, she found Natalie still asleep, drool on her pillow and hair tousled because of the pillow under her head. The sun was peeking through the curtain, some of its rays over her eyes. It was a good thing that she was getting her rest since the new season started later today. Yet another reason why she shouldn’t have done what she did with Elliot. He clouded her judgment and her decision-making more than anyone else, and her self-control ran thin when she so much as looked at him. She had completely forgotten the season was starting that afternoon. Renee sighed and tossed her things beside Natalie’s bedside, making her jolt awake when her things thudded. 

“Fuck, sorry, Nat, I didn’t mean to wake you up.” She said, watching Wattson stretch as she fully woke up. The blonde yawned and scratched her cheek, wiping it of all the drool that pooled in it as she sat up.

“It’s okay, Wraith, I needed to wake up eventually.” She giggled tiredly, glancing at her and noticing she was wearing casual clothes rather than her pajamas. “How long have you been awake?” She asked, tilting her head and looking at the clock beside her to see the time.

“Long enough.” She brushed the hints of curiosity in her voice off and feigned a smile. “Wanna get some breakfast before we go and train with the rest of the guys?” Natalie’s expression turned from inquisitive to elated in a flash, and she practically flung herself from the bed with a squeal. 

“ _Oui_!”

—

“...so I added more bolts to the base and I cranked up the voltage and...” Wattson trailed on as she walked into the firing range. Honestly, Renee wasn’t even paying attention. Not because she didn’t want to, or because she didn’t find Natalie interesting, she did, but the second Renee walked in and saw Elliot, she froze. He was just talking to Pathfinder, but he looked so...casual. So normal. If she didn’t know herself any better she’d probably blush because the last time she saw him he looked so disheveled: hair a mess, pants halfway buttoned, and, to put it quite bluntly, fucked out. Despite their last conversation, she couldn’t help how she reacted. Her heart was beating at an incredibly fast rate and she began to gnaw on her nails, a habit she usually ignored.

“Nat, I’ll be right back.” She interjected as Natalie kept talking about her latest prototype and didn’t let her answer, simply walking towards Elliot’s general direction fueled by god knows what because she wasn’t even planning on talking to him today, let alone after what happened earlier that day. Natalie just shrugged.

“Alright then! See you around.” She hummed, heading towards the multiple guns and grabbing a Mastiff from the lineup. She wasn’t very good at them because of the recoil, so she figured perfecting her aim and stability would be her priority before the season started. A lot of people were looking forward to seeing her and she had to impress them, right? She aimed at the moving target and landed a shoulder shot, reloaded, and tried again, landing her shot a little lower and hitting the target’s side instead. She sighed, the shots sending her back every now and then because of that annoying recoil, so the more frustrated she got, the less her shots would hit how she wanted them to.

“ _Ahem.”_ She jolted, her focus disrupted as she aimed at the head again, but she lowered her weapon and turned around to see none other than Octane standing right behind her.

“Oh, Octane! Hello, what did you need?” She turned, placing the safety on the gun and setting it beside her. Octavio looked around and rubbed his neck, and you could tell he was getting a bit antsy. 

“Couldn’t help but notice you weren’t hitting your shots, _chica_. Came over to check if you needed some help.” She raised a brow but smiled politely, her hands fiddling behind her back as she tried to make sense of this interaction. His tone was still as teasing and as impish as usual, so it wasn’t as hard to read as their last interaction, but it still rang peculiar.

“I think I’m just about done with the Mastiff for now, but thank you,” she replied, rubbing her arm. That recoil really was annoyingly uncomfortable. 

“Suit yourself, _hermana._ But hey, um…” he trailed off, glancing towards Ajay, who was busy having her ear talked off by Bangalore. She would glance every now and then at the two but quickly avert her gaze. Seems they hadn’t made up yet. That was new. “About yesterday. You haven’t told anyone, have you?”

“About what you told me? _Non,_ I haven’t. Why? I thought you and Lifeline made up already.” She figured her telling Wraith what their dance was about but not going into details counted as not telling anyone. Her head tilted in confusion and she glanced where he had been glancing, giggling internally at how annoyed Ajay looked with Anita following her around to explain some military bullshit she probably had no interest in knowing. He still looked a little beat up, but she tried not to let that define how he looked in general. He was talking fine and acting fine, too. But what would she know?

“Well, I wouldn’t say “made up”, she’s still mad at me because I haven’t “ _apologized”,_ or something, so who knows?” He scoffed, and she hummed in response and glanced at the ground. He hadn’t noticed it before, but she had freckles on her nose that he swore weren’t there before. He hadn’t been this close to her in all the seasons they had worked together, even when they were teamed up. He had noticed tiny, little things about her in the last eighteen or so hours than he had in all of those months. He wasn’t usually this attentive to detail, so why was he staring for this long? Such tiny, trivial, insignificant details weren’t really his cup of tea. He was more of a big picture, straight-to-the-point kinda guy. He figured he was still hungover after yesterday’s afterparty. Regardless, he was just _standing_ there. He shrugged to himself, for once not knowing what to talk about. This wasn’t Elliot, or Ramya, or Che; this was _Natalie_ , and even he knew that he couldn’t just talk to her like she’s, well...any of his friends.

“So—“

“Anyway, I should get back to training, big season coming tonight, no?” She smiled that polite smile again and he just stared at her dumbly but nodded when it registered in his high-speed brain that she was talking to him. She had always been so polite. Too polite even. _‘C’mon, chica, you don’t_ _have_ _to be nice to me. Not after I lied to you, but you don’t know that.’_ But she still was. She always was. Even after Caustic betrayed her, she’d at least be courteous outside of the ring with him, albeit distant. Sure, she had her petty moments, ( _he found them hilariously uncharacteristic of her, actually_ ) but it let everyone know that she wasn’t always the super nice girl they knew. She had some edge. They wouldn’t allow her in the games if she didn’t have some bite to her.

“Um, okay. See you around, _chica_.” He started walking off, kicking the sand underneath his prosthetic feet and for a second, he kinda wanted to go back and talk to her more. It made no sense to him, but he figured it was the guilt. Weird thing was that he wasn’t feeling the same way about Ajay. Ever since she got here, he’d been wanting to get through to her, but he would let her take her time. She would come to him eventually. He guessed it was because Ajay knew that he lied, Nat didn’t. In a way, that was worse. Call him an asshole, a player, a nuisance, but he was no liar. In fact, the times he did lie, he was terribly bad at it. He’d rather be blunt than hiding behind a lie like a coward. Ajay knew this, but it hadn’t even been him fessing up to the lie. He had made the fuck up that night after the gala they went to after getting that MRVN’s battery by confessing to DOC, of all things. All things considered, he was surprised he had gotten away with it for this long.

Natalie grabbed an R-99 and tried to make sense of the interaction between her and Octane again. He was still acting weird, she just couldn’t put her finger on _why_ , or even _how_. She couldn’t read people well, especially not Octane. She couldn’t see his eyes or see how his expression would change from behind his mask, so he would always be a hard person to crack. Still, she sighed to herself as she aimed the gun in her hands and practiced her shooting.

—

“...I just need you to give me some time, can you do that?” Renee asked quietly as she stood behind a rock with Elliot. She told herself she wouldn’t even talk to him, but here she was. In his head, Elliot had been right all along, that she’d come back, but he didn’t think it would be for this reason.

“Yeah, you know I can. It’s not like I haven’t been waiting or...whatever.” He glanced down, kicking the sand as he spoke in a low voice. Renee felt horrible about this, but she ultimately decided, in the five seconds it took to get to him from where she was, that this would be good for them.

“I know...but I mean it this time. I can’t keep getting sidetracked, and you can’t keep getting your hopes up.” _Ouch._ That certainly hit him like a ton of bricks. Even through all the things they had been through, he had never been formally broken up with like this. Granted, Renee only wanted time. And time he could do, but she wasn’t giving him a set date. He would wait, because it’s what he was used to, but she wasn’t guaranteeing him anything. He also figured this arrangement wouldn’t include _those_ kinds of late night calls or texts, or hiding behind trees in Kings Canyon to make out under the shade, or the little knowing side glances they’d give each other after using one of those abandoned buildings in World’s Edge for... _stuff._ He was being purposely blue-balled right now, and somehow he’d accept that, because it was Renee.

“Then...sure, yeah. Whatever you need.” He answered with a shrug, leaning against the rock. 

“Good. Then I guess I’ll see you around. Talk soon?” Elliot nodded in response to her and flinched as she walked past him, her hand sliding against his shoulder. It kind of pained him that he probably wouldn’t touch her for a while, but if that’s what it took to keep her in the long run, he’d do that. He’d wait.


	4. The Ring I

The dropship seemed a lot more crowded today, not because it was Horizon’s first match, but because there was tension in the air that practically everyone could feel. Nobody knew where it was coming from, but the way Elliot and Renee weren’t even looking at each other kind of gave it away. Or rather, Elliot staring at Renee like a puppy dog and Renee ignoring him like she’s refusing to throw him a bone. Surprisingly, they couldn’t feel that same tension between Lifeline and Octane, who were trying their best to be _normal_ with one another.

“Hey, _chica_ , ready to go back home?” Octavio playfully nudged Ajay on the arm as she flipped the pages of a brochure that detailed all the locations on Olympus. She knew she needed to act friendly in order to not arouse suspicion from the other Legends. She didn’t like the attention it brought her.

“Ya know this isn’t home to me, O, not anymore at least.” She replied, not meeting his eyes as she kept eyeing the brochure.

“It still could be, _hermana_ , if you could—”  
  


“Yeah, well, I’m not, O, ‘specially after seeing them last time. How could ya say that, knowing what you and I know now?” She glanced at him, and this actually shut him up for some time. He hummed in response and sat on top of the couch’s backrest, grabbing another brochure and flipping through its pages. After a few minutes of browsing through the locations, Octane spoke up.

“Hey look! It’s that restaurant I’m banned for life in, we could swing by someti—”

“No, O!”

— 

“Psst, Little Bird.” Gibraltar leaned over Wattson, who was busy listening to music as she also read the brochure and looked at the map, hovering over all the different checkpoints she was planning on visiting today. New planets always excited her.

“Little Bird…” Her earbuds were still on her ear, and she couldn’t hear him or feel him behind her, so Gibraltar gently pulled one of them out, prompting her to look back at him in surprise. “Little Bird.”

“Gibraltar! I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were there.” She said and scooted to the left a bit so he could sit beside her, smiling as she took her earbuds off entirely and looked at him, her full attention on him now. “And why do you call me Little Bird all the time?” Gibraltar shrugged and chuckled to himself.

“That’s a story for another day. But either way, you excited?” He gently nudged her as she smiled, nodding enthusiastically.

“I love new planets, I can’t wait for all the memories we’ll make there. Are you excited, too, Gibraltar?” She glanced at him all starry-eyed and he smiled at her, gently patting her leg with a sigh.

“Olympus holds so many of my memories already, but if it’s with you and the rest of my bruddahs—” He looked to his side and rolled his eyes as he locked eyes with Revenant, who groaned in annoyance and looked away from him. Gibraltar chuckled and continued, “well, except him. If it’s with my friends, I wouldn’t mind making new memories. It’ll be fun, right?” Natalie giggled and nodded, her hand covering her mouth as she tried not to be too loud. Not like anyone was even listening to them, but she was always aware of her volume, unlike _some_ people. Of course, Octane came to mind, and she absentmindedly looked in his direction, noticing that he was looking right at her, too. A few seconds later, she broke the eye-to-goggles contact when the dropship began experiencing turbulence. They must have been near Olympus now.

“My, my...Olympus. Been a long time, ain’t it?” Mary spoke to no one but herself as she looked out the window, seeing the city underneath them as they approached it. She sighed and backed up from the large window, sitting down when the seatbelt light began to flash. They were going to ascend a little higher so they could drop easier, so everyone sat and waited until the dropship got to the maximum height. A few seconds later, they were good to head to the center to get assigned their teams at random. Once they were all there, they assigned the trios: Bangalore, Wraith, and Lifeline; Wattson, Pathfinder and Rampart; Octane, Gibraltar, and Loba; Revenant, Crypto and Mirage; and lastly, Horizon, Bloodhound and Caustic. Once the platforms began to lower and everyone got a good look at the city, they braced themselves for the jump.

“Look, Che, it’s—!”

“Shut it, O!” Lifeline quickly interjected as Octane pointed at another location they probably knew as kids, but she wouldn’t let him finish. Everyone kind of chuckled at them, thinking it was just another one of their little banters and inside jokes, but Natalie didn’t laugh. She knew they were coursing over tumultuous waters at the moment, and she felt rather bad for the two. She glanced at all the locations she’d have to take the time to visit outside of the ring and glanced at Rampart, who was usually pining for jumpmaster every time they were paired together.

“Where should we land, Rampart?” Pathfinder asked giddily, looking all around the map. It was almost cute how excited he was. Rampart opened the projector on her wrist that showed a small version of the map and pinged Hydroponics: a lush, green agricultural area with buildings scattered around for each of them to loot, as well as a tunnel system they could hide in if the fight got too messy.

“Playin’ it safe for now, but stay alert, eh?” The two nodded and they all jumped after Rampart took her dive, howling out a _‘woohoo!’_ as she descended with her team. She’d soon glance to her right and realize she wasn’t the only one who picked this location to drop on. 

“Yo, look, _hormiguitas.”_ Octane laughed under his breath as he pointed towards Rampart’s squad. He and his squad dropped on top of one of the buildings and he and Gibraltar decided to grab whatever weapon they could find while Loba found them good loot instead of their pistols and scopes. They didn’t need those; they wanted something close range for later, but the scope and pistols they had would have to do for now.

“Alright, I see Path from here, you got eyes on anyone?” Gibraltar asked Octane as he focused his scope on Pathfinder, who was busy touching the grass and cooing to himself about the new scenery. Adorable, given the circumstances. Octane did have eyes on someone; specifically on a certain dreamy-eyed blonde frolicking the greenery as well, blissfully unaware that the speedster was aiming right at her. His eyes followed her, from the way she inspected a Flatline to the way she ran from one side of the building to the other to bring her teammates some shield batteries. He lowered his weapon then, his body fighting back the urge to lie.

“Uh, no, I thought I did, but they got out of sight.” And of course, he did anyway. Gibraltar didn’t know any better, so he shrugged and kept following Pathfinder with his scope. Hitting the tin can was always such a chore. The bad thing about trying to hit a frolicking robot that weighed almost a ton was actually landing his shots. He just wanted to immobilize him enough to distract his teammates. Octane breathed out and actually tried this time, his finger on the trigger of his pistol as she began to approach their building without a clue that they were inside. Unbeknownst to him, Rampart was already loading up her gun from the building she had been stationed in this whole time.  
  


“Gotcha, ya sneaky bastard.” She whispered, and the second she pulled on the trigger, she heard another gunshot, this time hitting her teammate Wattson’s shield and making Rampart miss her shot from the surprise.

“You choked!” Loba exclaimed as she came in, reloaded her gun after shooting Wattson in the shoulder, and dragged Octane from the window he had been stationary on for the past two minutes, pushing him out of the line of fire.

“I did not choke, I never choke!” Octane defended, swallowing down his spit and silently reprimanding himself for getting so distracted. He didn’t understand what happened. Had he actually choked? He had the perfect shot, so why didn’t he take it? It’s not like he was suddenly fearing he’d kill her. She looked like she had a full shield on, and even without a shield, it’s not like they were firing lethal rounds at one another. They called it ‘ring etiquette’ for a reason. They could deal damage enough to temporarily stun each other, and sometimes that damage resulted in real, rarely fatal injuries, but even then, he wasn’t particularly worried. The general consensus usually went home with minor, manageable injuries that anyone could treat. It’s why they had people like Lifeline and Gibraltar. They actually sped up that healing process minutes, if not seconds after the initial ailment.

“Then why didn’t you take the shot, huh? Agh, idiot. Forget it, you men are useless.” She grumbled under her breath, her boots clacking against the ground as she left Octane and Gibraltar to look at each other with a puzzled expression. They shrugged simultaneously.

“Shoot, Wattson, are ya hurt? Where’d the bloody duchess hit ya?” Rampart asked after Pathfinder dragged the Legend in question into the building, barricading the door with...well, himself.

“I’m fine, I had my shield on!” Wattson chirped, checking herself to make sure she had no actual hidden wounds. She glanced at the top part of her right shoulder and watched as the bullet hole shrunk in on itself, the damage being absorbed by the second tier (or _blue_ ) shield she had on. Pathfinder gave her his only shield battery then, the one she brought to him earlier, and she took it, replenishing her shields in no time. She thanked him with a smile soon after. “Are they gone?” She asked, rubbing both electrified palms together and reaching for her nodes in case she needed to quickly barricade and secure their building. It had been less than ten minutes and it looked like a few squads had already been eliminated. 

“Not yet, I can see Octane from here, looks like they ran into another squad, haha.” Rampart chuckled as she peeked through the window, blowing one of her bubblegum balloons and enjoying the _pop_ of it as it ruptured soon after. She could see Octane and Gibraltar, but no Loba. Coincidentally, there seemed to be a deathbox by the door she was last seen walking out of. “Looks like someone took out Loba. we’re this much closer, mates! Let’s move, ring’s about to start movin’.” She said, leading her teammates outside to start pushing the third party and the remaining two from Loba’s squad.

Gibraltar and Octane managed to get out of the spot they were in once they realized it wasn’t just one squad, it was at least two more, so they quickly moved towards the safe zone at the center of the map in Turbine. Gibraltar was carrying Loba’s respawn banner in his pocket and scoped the perimeter before he could actually bring her back into the ring. She was watching them from the dropship along with Crypto, Lifeline, and Caustic, who were among the first to get eliminated along with her. Surprisingly, Horizon seemed to be holding up well, for a newbie.

“So, Bruddah, did you really choke?” Gibraltar asked jokingly with a snicker, and Octane playfully punched his arm as they managed to squat in a building in order to heal themselves from the ring’s unforgiving sting. None of them really understood how someone as sweet and— _relatively_ —harmless as Wattson could make something that painful.

“I did not choke, she’s bullshitting, man.” He replied, reloading his P2020 that he didn’t have the chance to change since the first rotation. It’d have to do for now, unless he managed to snag someone’s weapon or find some floor loot. No luck so far. He glanced at Gibraltar, who was busy changing the scope on his Kraber from a 2x to a 3x. Octane never choked; in fact, he had more fuck-ups than the usual Legend. He never hesitated, so it was easy for him to miss his shots if he got too excited. He wished he could get to the root of today’s fuck-up though, but he was still convinced he just so happened to zone out. But why? It was irritating him, having to rationalize his thoughts and excuse himself. He felt stupid, more than usual.

“Alright, Bruddah, but next time let Gibraltar and his Kraber do the talkin’.” He chortled, and Octane chuckled in response, patting his back. He was a truly enjoyable squadmate; always wanted to help and genuinely tried to keep himself and his squad alive for as long as he could. He would also make you laugh, while simultaneously hitting most of his shots. He was a great asset to all his squads, and made this highly dangerous bloodsport a little more tolerable every day. No wonder he was a fan favorite.

“Ready to go yet, _amigo_? My legs are itching to go!” Octane swiftly changed the subject as he ran in place, trying to stop thinking. He stretched his arms and cracked his neck, peeking outside the window and seeing something approaching in the far distance. Looked to be Bangalore and Wraith. “Aye, check it out. We got company.” He smirked, moving aside so Gibraltar could look outside and begin aiming. He knew he couldn’t aim at Wraith and risk giving away their position, so he took the easy route and aimed at Bangalore, following her as she trekked her way into the circle with Wraith in tow. 

  
  


“Right, now all we need to do is wait for the perfect sucker to come through. Path, you understand the game plan, yeah?” Rampart asked as Wattson finished placing her last two nodes in front of the door of the main building in Turbine. They managed to get away from Horizon’s squad, and Pathfinder actually eliminated Caustic, despite losing about half his shield in the process. They seemed to be the only complete squad after that. It was all going in their favor. Only problem was getting past Bloodhound, but that was what the _plan_ was for.

“Yes, I do, Rampart! We lure Bloodhound in and trigger Wattson’s fences, then ambush Horizon and eliminate her, too! Go us!” Pathfinder exclaimed in his usual giddy voice, prompting both girls to laugh.

“You got it, Path. It’s all a matter of time, they should be showing up any minute now, lest they got distracted with—” It was then that the door busted open and one of Wattson’s fences were tripped with a loud crash, making the squad quickly draw their weapons and aim towards the noise.

“Fuck—” Well that _definitely_ wasn’t Bloodhound.

“Octane? The bloody hell?” Rampart said as she got closer, recognizing the voice in question. Octane had come from the opposite direction and probably thought the building was safe. A rookie mistake, really. And now he was downed and holding up his shield like an idiot. Served him right. The only question was...where was his teammate?

“Hey guys, lovely weather, isn’t it?” Octane bantered, scooting back towards a corner so his back could be protected while he held up the shield to cover his front. He was this close to getting eliminated, so his eyes darted back and forth from Rampart, to Pathfinder to Wattson, who was looking at him with her brows furrowed in a bit of confusion. All their weapons were aimed at him. He kind of brought this on himself; he was used to straying from his squadmates if he felt confident enough to push forward without them, but Gibraltar was taking too long to move, so he may have strayed a bit too far. Well, at least if he got eliminated, Gibraltar could bring back Loba and they could still win.

Rampart rolled her eyes and decided to spare him, for now. He could prove useful later if Gibraltar came to replenish his health and shield. There were only a few squads left, but at least they were the only full squad. The odds were in their favor, and there was nothing that Rampart wanted more than a win to kick off the season. It would definitely prove her status as a Legend to all her naysayers. She moved to the nearest window and peeked, wondering why there were no other squads showing up. This was the only building in the area. Where was the light-show and the pushing? Was everyone really playing it safe? _Y’know, except Octane…_

  
  


“Hey, Skinsuit, stop spacing out before I end your life instead,” Revenant warned menacingly to a very dejected and terrified looking Mirage, who was staring out of a window in the Polar Grid area. Revenant had just gotten the kill leader title after wiping Bloodhound and Horizon in under thirty seconds. Mirage wasn’t doing so well; he had too much on his mind. The ring was about to close in the next few minutes, and he immediately stopped his train of thought once he heard the simulacrum threaten him.

“Sorry, sorry—” he laughed nervously, “please don’t kill me.” He quickly shifted to the sim’s side, letting him do most of the work since he had been doing so well. Revenant chuckled and looked around curiously. Seems like Rampart wasn’t the only one that suspected everyone was camping and playing it safe.

“Now, where _is_ everyone? Hmm…” Revenant muttered to himself as Mirage peeked out the window, his vision suddenly obstructed by a light that seemed to come out of nowhere. He knew what that meant. _Wraith_.

“Uh, Rev? There’s something you should kn—”

“You are insufferable. I said shut it, skinsuit.” Mirage whimpered at the simulacrum's reply and gulped, having this uneasy feeling that he was being watched, by the object of his affections no less. Still, he remained quiet. Revenant was too busy aiming at Rampart right now and everyone in the ring currently knew she and her squad were the last remaining full squad, so taking one of them down would mean everyone had a fair shot at winning. Revenant wasn’t about fairness by any means, but it benefited him right now.

Before they both knew it, there was a low rumble in the ground and Revenant turned to Mirage to see if he heard and felt that, too. The trickster didn’t even have time to reply, because the whole building they were at had gotten bombarded by Bangalore’s artillery airstrike.

**_KILL LEADER ELIMINATED._ **

“Ain’t that somethin’? Take that, _skinsuit_ .” Bangalore chuckled to herself as she fist-bumped Wraith, who was shaking her head in amusement.  
  


“Good work, now what?” She asked, glancing at the little building where Rampart’s squad was. None of them had a scope, so hitting their shots from the mountainside where they were stationed wasn’t exactly ideal.

“Now we work on taking Rampart’s squad out, one by one. You focus on Parekh, I know you’ve got a personal vendetta against her. ‘Specially now that it’s painfully obvious why.” Bangalore said nonchalantly and Wraith furrowed her brows, turning off her com so the audio wouldn’t be transmitted to the viewers and staring right at her.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She asked, brows still knitted together as the other chuckled. “Hey, turn your com off. What are you talking about?” She pressed on, and Bangalore turned her com off as she finally gave in.

“Come on, Renee. We’re not that far apart in age, so quit actin’ like I was born yesterday. I saw you and Elliot talking in the firing range. Gotta say, I didn’t think you were into guys like that, but who am I to judge?” The latter replied and began to move closer once the ring started to shrink in around them. Gibraltar was still nowhere to be found, but it seemed like Rampart’s squad was still holding Octane hostage as bait.

“And I didn’t think you were the nosy type, but I guess we both learned something about one another today.” Bangalore chuckled again, motioning the other to hold her weapon accordingly, since Renee seemed too relaxed, or at least, too distracted now to focus on the endgame.

“Look, I know we may have gotten off on the wrong foot at first, but I really don’t care enough about your love life to tell or anything. More power to ya for keeping it under wraps for so long, I’m just sayin’, maybe leave the sneaking around for the games. I promise no one cares.” Renee said nothing after that. Not like she didn’t want to, she wanted to wipe that smug look off her face, but it wasn’t worth it, nor was it the time and place. She’d deal with her someday, but right now, she needed to wipe off that last squad and Gibraltar, too. No one knew where the gentle giant was. She turned her com on after Bangalore and began to push forward, Wraith already charging up her portal in case they needed to make an abrupt escape.

  
  


“So why are you guys hiding in here anyway, eh? That’s like, kinda boring if you ask me.” Octane spoke after a minute or two of silence. They had just heard the announcer say that the kill leader had been eliminated. Last they heard, that was Revenant, which meant it was only him, Gibraltar, Bangalore, Wraith, and Rampart, Path and Wattson. Rampart shrugged.

“We’re playing it smart, plus I like watching the fight come to me. Like you did. And look where that got ya.” She laughed, and he shrugged, letting her win. She did have a point. He glanced at Wattson for a second and gave her a quick once over, letting his eyes travel from her head to her toes.

“You talk a good game, _hermana_ , but you’d all be dead if I hadn’t tripped those fences. Isn’t that right, _Hermosa_?” He teased, staring right at the electrical engineer like she was in on this. The poor girl turned to him and looked all confused, unsure of what he was even saying or implying. Rampart apparently did, as she gagged and made hacking noises.

“Gross, don’t listen to him, Wattson, he’s just mad two girls and a robot kicked his arse.” Wattson giggled at this and spared the speedster a glance, not really thinking much of this interaction. Not long after, Pathfinder heard the rustling noises of footsteps outside, and the girls and Octane started looking around to see where it was coming from. Octane lost his com when he went through those fences, as well as his weapon, so it’s not like Gibraltar was detailing his master plan in his ear. He was in the dark just as much as the squad in front of him. All this time, Gibraltar had been behind their building, his back against the wall as he waited for the circle to close. He was tracking the other squad, hearing their footsteps approach from a few feet away, so he took it upon him to throw his dome shield and ambush the two girls once they got close enough. What transpired next was a mix of gunshots, the noises of shields breaking and grunts and groans of frustration, and Rampart was already mounting Sheila while Wattson and Pathfinder covered the sides of the door.

“Hells yeah, Gib!” Octane exclaimed as he heard the distinct laugh of the taller from outside, as well as the sound of Wraith phasing. Rampart groaned and threw some amped cover in front of the door, for extra coverage. If there was one thing they knew not to mess with, it was Gibraltar’s bombardment. Plus, the man was ruthless when he wanted to be. Luckily it was only him and Wraith now, who phased god knows where after Gibby took down Bangalore with a single shot of the Mastiff he took from Bloodhound’s deathbox.

“You can’t hide from Gibraltar, Bruddahs!” He joked from outside, reloading his shotgun. Octane took this opportunity to slither to the other side of the building, knowing Gibraltar would probably throw his bombardment soon. Even an idiot like him knew the countless fences, amped covers, and even Wattson’s interceptor pylon wouldn’t be a match against that. Still, it was two lone squad members against a full squad, and Wraith was probably off healing somewhere, with the ring closing in even tighter around them. It’d be a miracle if it didn’t eliminate her. 

Meanwhile, Octane was once again ogling Wattson. He simply felt like teasing her today; it’d take his mind off the _why_ he was doing it in the first place. He wouldn’t call it “flirting”, though, even though that came naturally for him, even if he didn’t try. Also, _‘was that a new outfit?’_

“You know, if we make it out of here alive, _chica_ , maybe you could teach me a thing or two about—” 

“Ugh, shut up already!” Rampart interrupted just as Wattson turned to look at him, and the younger of the Legends reloaded her R-99 and fired some rounds at the speedster, just to eliminate him entirely. Fun time was over. Next thing he knew, he was in the dropship with the rest of the Legends, who were just staring at him as he spawned in. 

“Geez, tough crowd.” He said, sitting by the couch where they all looked at the screen and watched as Gibraltar began to call in his airstrike, all of them at the edge of their seat as it started to rain missiles on the building. Wattson’s pylon immediately shattered at all the pressure, and Rampart began firing from Sheila once the door blew, aiming at his shield from behind her cover, which was sitting on its last leg. Pathfinder’s shield had been fully cracked, and all fences had broken now. Realistically, there was no way Gibraltar would be able to get a full squad _and_ Wraith all by himself, but he _could_ force the two other squads to fight one another. When he heard Wraith phase back, she was already inside the building. His plan had worked and Wraith had taken the bait. The bombardment was enough of a distraction to them for Wraith to sneak in and get a kill on an already shieldless Pathfinder and an aloof Wattson, so when Rampart took notice, she turned her minigun towards her and eliminated her before she could get her next. And, as her back was turned, Gibraltar delivered a quick shot to the modder, getting him his first-ever solo win.

“Crap.” Ramya groaned as she spawned back into the dropship and heard everyone cheering for the gentle giant, but she couldn’t be too mad, that was a good play on his part.

“It’s okay, friend, second place isn’t too bad.” Pathfinder quipped, his screen displaying his signature happy face, and she mirrored it with her own smile, giving him a pat. Gibby deserved this, so she wasn’t going to complain, despite being kind of salty that she was outsmarted like that. 

  
  


“Congratulations, by the way,” Wattson spoke as she sat beside Octane, who glanced at her and cleared his throat.

“Thanks, but that was all Gibbs.” He chuckled and watched her as she nodded in understanding. She didn’t peg him as the humble type.

“Well, you still helped, silly.” She giggled, giving him a gentle shoulder shove. She had touched him, all by herself. He didn’t think she had ever done that before. Still, he brushed away that query when Renee got between them, quite literally squeezing in next to Wattson and sitting in the middle.

“Hey, Nat, sorry I had to kill you, it was just too easy.” The woman joked, somehow forgetting Octane was there beside her.

“It’s okay, Wraith, I would’ve done the same.” She smiled, and Octane peeked around Wraith to look at her again. If he hadn’t had goggles on, he’d probably be caught red-handed. He looked back at the screen as Gibraltar was announced the Apex Champion. Everyone cheered for him again, and when he was lifted back up into the Dropship, they all raced to greet and congratulate him. It was well deserved; having a solo win like that was rare enough as it was, but no one had anything against Gibby, it was kind of difficult to. Octane wasn’t even mad that he wasn’t bathing in the limelight with his squadmate, Loba didn’t either. It was pretty wholesome.


End file.
